Opel Astra OPC headed for Geneva unveil

The next in a long line of crazy Opel Astra OPC hot hatchbacks is bound for an official unveiling at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

For a 2012 modelyear the Opel Astra OPC will once again feature an enormous amount of power, a very impressive design and likely come with a major fault.

2012 Opel Astra OPC

According to Opel, the new Astra OPC will attempt to keep its grunt under control by using various methods that aren’t as costly as four wheel drive.
In terms of attempts at making the German hot hatch stay on course under performance driving situations it will employ an LSD, HiPerStrut and FlexRide.

That may sound like a bunch of wrong terms but it’s actually serious handling aiding stuff. While the latter two are Opel specific suspension an handling gubbins, the limited slip differential is a true novelty.

2012 Opel Astra OPC

All these systems should be quite impressive but until properly tested we’ll refrain from calling the Opel Astra OPC as tamed.

Especially when you consider how the newest 2012 version will feature a 2.0 liter turbocharged engine which develops 276 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque.

The rest of the details will be available in March; if you’re British and you find yourself a little confused, Vauxhall will call this model the Astra VXR.

2012 Opel Astra OPC

That said, aside from the new name and the steering wheel being placed on the “correct side” of the car, the Vauxhall Astra VXR will be exactly the same.

Apparently, Opel/Vauxhall will release a new electric bike alongside the hot version of the Astra. They must be trying to seem sane after the crazyness of the sporty three door.